Airport passengers are disturbed by the TSA's "nude" scans of adults and children alike. But they're even more repulsed by the idea of being groped by TSA agents under the stricter "enhanced" search procedures. (Source: Corbis)

Terrorists' new tact of smuggling IEDs in their anal cavity may force the TSA to adopt even more intense search "enhancements". (Source: World Net Daily)

The public is not happy about increasingly invasive "enhanced" searches and scans

Imagine if you saw this job posting on Craigslist:

Wanted: A person with good attention to detail and willingness to work long hours. Your daily tasks will consist of viewing people naked all day, including children. You will also be asked to pat down the private regions of men, women, and children on a regular basis.

It sounds ludicrous, but that's essentially the job duties of the average Transportation Safety Administration worker at an airport these days. And it's exactly why the public is outraged and planning an unprecedented, if poorly organized protest for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Prepare to be Searched

In response to the ever imaginative attempts of terrorists, the Obama administration is rolling out mass deployment of the scanners, which show nude images of passengers. And those who refuse scans undergo much more invasive searches.

Some passengers are reporting that TSA officers reached into their undergarments, groping their private parts. Reports one woman, "The woman who checked me reached her hands inside my underwear and felt her way around. It was basically worse than going to the gynecologist. It was embarrassing. It was demeaning. It was inappropriate."

While there's supposed "protocols" protecting against such gross violations of privacy, there's little in the way of oversight it appears.

Similarly body scanners supposedly can't store or transmit images -- but that might not line up with reality. However, the U.S. Federal Marshalls recently admitted in a court case that they secretly stored tens of thousands of nude scans of passengers, including, likely, children. The TSA continues to claim that it's impossible to store images.

The public is not happy about these developments.

Poorly Organized Protests

Growing public outraged has fueled some to propose "National Opt-Out Day". Some people are proposing going to the airport dressed in protest T-shirts and kilts even. Rather than agreeing to body scans, they plan on demanding that TSA officers perform "enhanced" pat downs in a bid to delay flight times and press the point.

Robert Shofkom, a 43-year-old Georgetown, Texas native is among those planning on wearing a kilt in protest. An IT specialist by profession, Mr. Shofkom remarks, "If you give them an inch, they won't just take in inch. Pretty soon you're getting scanned to get into a football game."

Some people have even passed out fliers or brought protest signs to the airport. The fliers carry messages like, "You have the right to say, 'No radiation strip search! No groping of genitals!' Say, 'I opt out.'"

If enough people are convinced, it could just work. A scan takes only about 10 seconds. But a pat down can take four minutes or more. If a significant portion of passengers opt for pat downs it could seriously delay flight times.

At present, the efforts seem rather poorly organized and ineffectual -- flights have remained on schedule and wait times have been remarkably low at around 10 minutes at many major airports.

Still the protests are clearly catching the public's attention, as evidenced by the "Don't Touch My Junk!" video which went viral. In that video an Oceanside, Calif., man named John Tyner told a San Diego airport TSA official, "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested."

TSA Tells Public Not to Resist

The TSA has admonished the protest efforts. Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole, speaking on ABC's Good Morning America said that protesters are hurting the public, stating, "I just feel bad for the traveling public that's just trying to get home for the holiday. [The TSA screeners] just want to get you through."

The agency has increased its staff count, bracing for potential protests. And it's urging the public to comply with its nude scans and pat downs.

What's Next?

With increasing privacy violations at the airport, the hot topic on many people's minds is -- where will the TSA stop?

There's been growing speculation about terrorists trying to smuggle explosives by inserting them in their rectum. A Saudi suicide bomber already smuggled a bomb in his anal cavity. A terrorist, in theory could smuggle a bomb onto a plane in their anal cavity and then remove it and detonate it.

Current generation scanners are likely not capable of detecting low-density explosives inside the anal cavity.

If such an attack is attempted, the TSA may have to opt for even greater "enhancements" to its already intimate screening protocol.

And in reality there's probably plenty of vulnerabilities that haven't been thought of. What is clear is that the public likely faces a choice between continuing to give up their freedoms or drawing a hard line now and resisting the current protocols.

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I'm a Canadian who flies quite a bit, and have many times landed or connected in the US. I no longer do so. Over the past couple years I've ensured that all my flights have connected elsewhere in Canada, Mexico, or are direct to Europe. I've also decided against any more vacations in the US. I was looking forward to more trips to Vegas, seeing California, visiting relatives in Texas, and checking out Hawaii. Not a chance now.

I'm an American and I'm now boycotting flying completely. I will not give up my civil liberties and let the terrorists win (they already have, apparently). This is sickening that we, good citizens, are being treated like common criminals.

I thought once we'd managed to get it through Newt Gingrich's thick head that we Canadians had heard the last of it.

Let me guess, she though they came across the Vermont-Ontario border? (hint, Vermont and Ontario don't have a border, despite the post-9/11 West Wing episode claiming they did. The show later slyly apologised by playing O Canada in reference to correcting a misdrawn border).

It's actually pretty sad how your own government will bail out the very people that caused a recession, then chokes private enterprise with government high-handedness, kills tourism, and taxes the balls off you to pay morons to stroke your wang.

It's worse than that even. Here in California, the police don't want you to defend yourself. Heaven help you if you pull a gun on someone who attacks you or breaks into your house.

In Texas police look at cases where a mugger, assault, or robbery suspect was shot by the victim as a case solved. Here in CA they will arrest you for it and you will probably serve more time than the guy that assaulted you, and that is if the gun was registered.

Laws vary WILDLY from state to state (county or city even). Obviously, if it's illegal for you to even own a gun (which it is in some cities except under strict circumstances) then you will be charged if you end up defending yourself in your own home, even if it was obviously justified. "Those" types of regions tend to have DA's who aren't too keen on you using a weapon to defend yourself, so they'll be unlikely to show leniency to the poor guy who was just defending his family.

Recently, though, those laws have started to be overturned by the Supreme court, since they so obviously violate the 2nd Ammendment. Instead, those cities are simply cracking down on everything else that goes along with firearms ownership. Sure, you can have a gun, but you can't transport it, or practice with it, or buy it in the city. Or you can own a gun but it has to be completely disabled (taken apart, and with ammo in a different location). While the police wouldn't go looking in peoples' houses for fully assembled weapons, they could assume it was assembled and ready to go if you were to use it to stop an intruder.

At any rate, my point is that when you can and can't use a firearm in self defense (even in your own home!) varies quite a bit from place to place as well. Anyone considering gun ownership should spend a lot of time researching the laws in their area to avoid some serious fines or jail time.

Our security system profiles muslims and arabs but lets most of the other people go through the normal screening without much hassle. It works very well. The muslims on the other hand go through a full body check, verbal interrogation and even cavity search if deemed necessary by the security officials. From time to time, if the security services suspect someone that is not muslim they may check him/her out as well, but this is pretty rare. Why should all the people suffer when the muslims are the reason for all of this in the first place?

In real world an american(me and you) should not be allowed to enter or land any airport of the world. Should not be given a visa to any country. Because, where ever they (me and you) have went(int last 20+ Years) with the slogan of plan to make things better they (me and you) have destroyed and created mayhem on that land. Have killed hundred of thousand women, kids and innocent men and still doing it in the name of FREEDOM, JUSTUS and SECURITY. What has happen to us HUMANS? Why we are so powerless in front of these thugs like Clinton, Bush and Obama? and their BOSSES? Wake up my brother and sisters and get your selves out of this slavery. They do not give a S___ about you or your lives. IT IS A FACT. So stop letting them put a finger up yours when they tell you it for your own security. F__IT..

I can see your point, but dislike the idea for the same reason that I dislike NanoTube1's: by specifically targeting all of one demographic (be it Muslims, Americans, or shifty-looking stereotypical Arabs) you're oppressing the majority of that demographic, and also allowing an easy way past the security measures - use someone from a different race or background (it would be easy enough to convince an American-born nut-job to blow up a plane for the hell of it and it would be likewise easy for a concerned non-muslim to go to Israel to do something drastic in aid of Palestine).

I can see that it's extra suspicious for Muslims to go to Israel as many Muslim states won't allow them back in afterwards, so they must have a pretty serious reason for going. But every generalisation leaves holes in both security and equality, as well as promoting prejudice.

And have you seen that missile approaching toward your home that was dropped from an unmanned drone.. While you are sitting with your kids.. eating food and getting ready to sleep..after a long day work...??!! Thanks God you have not and neither have I.. We need more info, just like when a new gadget comes out and we take it apart and some of us cant wait to "grind" it...We should have same kind of transparency when we arrest a terror suspect.. People who are handling these issues are professional liars. Look at the Time square "bomb" attempt.. USA says Taliban did it.. Taliban said No we did not...USA says yes you are right you did not...Then Pakistan says they did... Taliban said.. Nay..and USA start saying YA ha... For 15 days it was back and forth... They make billion by proving it was Taliban (I am not saying they did or did not). SAD FACT.